This axis brings together 1 occurrence of the use of this verse in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the Verse as Cited
They ask you about the Hour
Reader’s Answer
The Question
Where does the verse occur, what does its invocation mean in Shahrur’s distinction between seeking a legal opinion regarding kalalah and forms of questioning, and what function does it serve in his argument?
The verse occurs in Al-A‘raf 187, in the form of a question addressed to the Prophet about the Hour. Shahrur invokes it as an example of earlier forms of questioning when he reads the opening of the kalalah verse as “They seek your legal opinion”; for him, its function is to support his claim that, before the revelation of Qur’an 4:176, kalalah had been a subject of inquiry and a request for an opinion.
Shahrur cites Al-A‘raf 187, alongside the example of the question about the spirit, when discussing the opening of the kalalah verse in the form of seeking a legal opinion. He understands the expression “They seek your legal opinion” in the kalalah verse as evidence that, before the verse’s revelation, kalalah had been a subject of inquiry and a request for an opinion, and he makes the form of the question about the Hour a comparative example for this context.
The Citation and Its Location
Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence — p. 210.
Limits of the Reading
- The citation does not state that the expressions “They ask you” and “They seek your legal opinion” are synonymous or technically distinct; rather, it compares them within the context of the argument.
- The citation does not offer an independent interpretation of the meaning of the Hour or of the context of Al-A‘raf 187 within the surah.
- The citation does not establish that Al-A‘raf 187 was revealed because of the question about kalalah; its connection here is a comparative example in Shahrur’s reasoning.
- The phrase “Qur’anic clarification” requires qualification: what is established in the citation is Shahrur’s inference of a prior inquiry and request for an opinion, not the construction of a general theory of all Qur’anic forms of questioning.
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Brief Reading
He invokes it to compare the form of seeking a legal opinion concerning kalalah with earlier forms of questions, indicating that the matter had been the subject of a request and Qur’anic clarification.
Axes
- Legislative
- Methodological
Related Concepts
- Seeking a legal opinion: 2
- Kalalah: 1
- Question: 1
- Qur’anic clarification: 1
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It is connected to the way juristic issues are presented in the text.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Support: 1
Occurrences of Use
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 210: He invokes it to compare the form of seeking a legal opinion concerning kalalah with earlier forms of questions, indicating that the matter had been the subject of a request and Qur’anic clarification.
- Concept: Seeking a legal opinion
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “Exactly as in His—exalted be He—saying: { They ask you about the Hour } (Al-A‘raf 187) and { And they ask you about the spirit } (Al-Isra’ 85)”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas construction methodology.